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On the eve of the Oscars, here's a new film from the Coen brothers that's far droller and more genuinely subversive of Hollywood than the self-serving leaden propagandizing of Trumbo. As producers, directors, writers and pseudonymous editors, Joel and Ethan Coen have spent their careers successfully mining a contemporary seam of old-time studio forms such as screwball and noir. This time they have to be proficient at every genre - from elegant drawing-room comedy to splashy aquatic musicals Hail, Caesar! is a day in the life of a 1951 studio fixer called "Eddie Mannix". There once was a real-life Eddie...

The third new offering of the weekend, Nicholas Sparks' film adaptation 'The Choice,' is also struggling; 'Kung Fu Panda 3' will beat all three to stay at No. 1. Ethan and Joel Coen's Hail, Caesar! grossed an underwhelming $4.3 million from 2,222 theaters Friday for a projected $11.6 million debut, the lowest nationwide start of the duo's directing career. The news is even more grim for mash-up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The movie may only debut to $5 million after earning $2 million on Friday from 2,931 theaters. That puts it behind the the third new movie daring to...

Photo of Obama and Spain's First Children Causes a Stir September 25, 2009 04:53 PM ET | Paul Bedard, Alex Kingsbury | Permanent Link | Print By Alex Kingsbury, Washington Whispers Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was in for a rude shock if he thought the same privacy conventions that shield the children of public figures in his home country would extend to the United States. Zapatero brought his wife and two daughters along on his trip to New York for the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly, and on Wednesday he and his family posed...